startling
adjective
star·tling
ˈstär-tᵊl-iŋ 
ˈstärt-liŋ
: causing momentary fright, surprise, or astonishment
a startling discovery
startlingly
adverb
Examples of startling in a Sentence
Startling new evidence came to light during the trial.
He made a startling discovery.
It is a city of startling contrasts.
Recent Examples on the Web
The stars of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives season 2 reunited for a tell-all special on July 1 which brought a number of startling revelations to the forefront — and forced the ladies to confront the questions that have been on everyone's minds.
—
Rebecca Aizin, People.com, 3 July 2025
Home surveillance footage captured the startling moment a single-engine Cessna 150 flipped over in a backyard in South Carolina.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2025
Ziegler’s script is intentionally cryptic about which reality the audience is watching from scene to scene until some startling revelations bring everything together near the end.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 June 2025
Here’s an even more startling data point: ChatGPT-4 successfully generated entirely new emotional intelligence tests that performed as well as versions that took researchers years to develop.
—Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for startling
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Rebecca Aizin, People.com, 3 July 2025
Home surveillance footage captured the startling moment a single-engine Cessna 150 flipped over in a backyard in South Carolina.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2025
Ziegler’s script is intentionally cryptic about which reality the audience is watching from scene to scene until some startling revelations bring everything together near the end.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 June 2025
Here’s an even more startling data point: ChatGPT-4 successfully generated entirely new emotional intelligence tests that performed as well as versions that took researchers years to develop.
—Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for startling
Cite this Entry
“Startling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/startling. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
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